Munich. Today, on the fifth anniversary of the opening of the BMW Welt, the BMW Group gave the press a sneak preview of its new brand experience. The official opening weekend for all visitors will be on 20-21 October 2012. From now on, the brand worlds of MINI, Rolls-Royce and Husqvarna Motorcycles, and the sub-brands BMW i, BMW M and MINI John Cooper Works will be part of the BMW Welt experience, as well as the BMW and BMW Motorrad brands. The BMW Group will also present its own company exhibition for the first time in the Double Cone. Therefore, Bavaria’s most popular tourist attraction will now house the entire BMW Group brand spectrum.

Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing BMW, on the significance of the BMW Welt: “The BMW Welt is now the heart of all of our premium brands and sub-brands, as well as the spirit of the BMW Group. Enhancing the BMW Welt in this way enables us to broaden the customer experience. Customer orientation is a key part of our company’s philosophy and is vitally important in creating a genuine personal and emotional connection. We look forward to welcoming many more visitors from all around the world to our Munich location.”

Harald Krüger, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for MINI, Motorrad, Rolls-Royce and Aftersales, stated at the opening: “We will be focusing even more attention on the BMW Group’s individual brands and business areas in the future. The presence of all brands is the first milestone in this development. Here, our customers can experience the core of the brands first-hand: from Rolls-Royce, the pinnacle of luxury, to the extraordinary world of MINI, to all of our Motorcycle brands.”

Opening weekend

To mark its fifth anniversary, the BMW Welt is inviting guests to attend a special weekend on 20-21 October. Both days will feature a varied programme with a large number of events and indoor and outdoor activities: from the BMW jazz matinee and Rolls-Royce teatime to a MINI fashion dance show. More information can be found at: http://www.bmw-welt.com/de/events/bi...e_weekend.html

The BMW Welt presents the latest BMW Group developments. These can be seen in its products, but also in a glimpse of future mobility, with examples such as electro-mobility and future charging technology. Visitors can already take advantage of the BMW Group mobility services DriveNow and BMW on Demand on-site. The BMW Welt provides insights into the BMW Group’s future sales concepts – in Germany, it is a pioneer in the field of future retail. Future retail is a comprehensive programme which offers new and diverse ways for customers to interact with our brands and products.

Exhibition content

At the redesigned BMW Welt, the BMW Group and each of its brands welcomes visitors in its own interactive experience area: The BMW Group display in the Double Cone focuses on the people who work for the company. BMW Group employees serve as avatars that interact with the visitors and explain the work they do. In the BMW area, innovative presentation techniques are used to showcase design and technology, as well as the vehicles themselves. The exhibits allow visitors to understand and actively experience sheer driving pleasure. The BMW i presentation invites visitors to think deeply about electro-mobility and related issues, such as battery charging, energy generation and usage. In the BMW M brand area, visitors experience motorsport in its purest form: Weathered blacktop, start signals, piles of tyres and typical racetrack markings along the walls and the floor all transport the visitor to a world with a fascination for power.

Surprising and unconventional ideas allow the visitor to experience all aspects of the MINI brand in a fun, interactive way. For example, an oversized iPhone running a simulation of the MINI Connected app demonstrates individual functions. In the MINI Lounge, visitors can post a picture of themselves on the photo wall for posterity. The Rolls-Royce presentation is stylish and modern: Films and exhibits highlight the countless hours of meticulous handwork that go into every Rolls-Royce. One of the Rolls-Royce cars is always open to visitors. Anyone who wishes to can sit inside a Rolls-Royce – touch it, see it, smell it, savour it. The BMW Motorrad area features more than just motorcycles. The Biker’s Lodge serves as a platform for the unique motorcycle community, and provides a casual atmosphere for sharing stories and recollections about travels, routes and tours. The Husqvarna brand is staged in a way that appears to defy the laws of gravity: A motorbike is suspended in the air above the visitors’ heads, and even the red Husqvarna container, positioned above the whole brand area in the upper level of the BMW Welt, appears to be free of gravity.

The unique BMW Welt brand experience is complemented by a new event concept, which allows the different brands to host their own events. Events like the BMW Welt Jazz Award or MINI Clubbing highlight brand values and are geared towards each brand’s target group.

I think this is a great idea and surprised BMW AG didn't do this sooner. Allows the public to experience the whole family in one place. Not sure about how tight or how free you'll be in there with the cars but if you can go up to a Rolls and actually check it out, I think is pretty cool because who's really going to find a Rolls Royce dealership and walk in knowing full well you can't/won't buy?

See'em here almost daily..
But yes, sitting in, closing the door, breathing in the feeling, perhaps listen to the stereo, would be something unique to be able to do with a RR just like in any other car showroom.

the Customs duty rate for passenger motor vehicles is 15% and $12,000 per vehicle. GST is charged in addition to this and is charged at a rate of 10% of the VoTI. The VoTI is equal to the sum of the Customs value, plus the Customs duty, plus the cost of transporting the goods to Australia and for insuring the goods for that transport.

In the U.S

Dutiable Entry
Foreign-made vehicles imported into the U.S., whether new or used, either for personal use or for sale, are generally dutiable at the following rates:

Cars and gas are cheap yes.. but everything varies, depends where in the US...bigger metro areas such as Southern California, NY Tri State, Chicagoland all have very high home prices and higher costs of living, similar to what things cost in AUS.